Several years in the making. Team Wallace has been dedicated to finding and producing upper level event horses. Elisa and Rick are known for working with troubled or difficult horses and getting them to succeed. Most Team Wallace horses are rescues or horses that have not been given a proper opportunity to reach their full potential. All of our horses have a great story.

William

I found William as a 5 year old on the internet. I ended up driving to Adel, GA in the blazing summer and looked at him and his brother. I decided I liked them both and threw them on the trailer. His Jockey Club name is "The Name's Cupid," but for some reason he looked like a William to me. He was apparently not very successful at the track--with only one start and earing a mere $90 . Lucky for me!

He started off very distant and head-shy. He had an injury that ripped off part of his eye-lid (he only has three eyelashes!) and it was very infected and swollen when I got him, but soon he started to come around. I ended up selling his brother and decided to put him up on the market as a resale. I had shown him to several people, but for some reason or another nothing ever went through. William also tended to be the back-up horse that I had to depend on in sticky situations. When my other horses would get hurt, he always came through with flying colors and proved to be very dependable. He did, however, have a set back in January of 2008 when I came home and found that he had broken his withers in his paddock!! So I rehabilitated him and he healed wonderfully. I call him my little stegosaur!

With the clear from the vets he competed that fall at the training level and in November of 2008 finished his first Prelim!! He always tends to surprise me and rises to every occasion, with his quirky personality--very opinionated--I definitely know I am his human and hopefully our bond will help us rise up the levels. So I have decided to take him off the market and give him a shot! He has definitely proved himself with his incredible jumping technique and catty ability! This should be an exciting season.

Traveling Light (aka Freddie)

Leighton Price purchased Traveling Light aka Freddie in January of 2006. She entrusted me to find her diamond in the rough, so I went about searching and came across an ad for a Grey TB gelding. Leighton had his name already picked out--Traveling Light--one of her favorite songs and Freddie was one of her favorite names- destiny I guess. So we traveled to Villa Rica, GA to take a look, and we found Freddie who was skin and bones. The one thing about skinny horses is your are able to see how they are put together--literally. He was a nice enough mover and seemed to have a really nice personality. It was still a gamble, but both are hearts melted for the skinny grey gelding--there was no way we were coming home without him. Once home he started to gain weight and muscle. He has now blossomed into a incredible athlete with a great and goofy personality. He is able to compete with Leighton at the Training level and switch gears and compete at the upperlevels with me. On to another exciting season!

Figjam (aka Amigo)

Figjam aka Amigo was purchased in 2009 by Beatriz Halbert. When I first came across Amigo, in February of 2010, he had the long arabian mane and couldn't canter on a circle. With Beatriz having to take a break from riding, Amigo was able to benefit through regular training and with everyday he improved greatly. He started off a very unconfident horse--very afraid of shadows and even poles on the ground!One thing I did notice is that he had alot of scope, with jumping he thoroughly enjoyed it, and started to build his confidence. I often times call him the "Black Pegasus" and after his first XC school, he enjoyed it so much he was schooling most of the Prelim questions, I thought,"hey this little Arab has a little somethin". He completed his first Prelim in November of 2010 and finished 9th! Thanks to Beatriz supporting Amigo's talents, we shall see how far the talented little arabian can go....

Chase the Moon (aka Grace)

I first came across Grace when she was a 4yo in Tallahassee, FL. She came to me as a bit of a handful and was to be trained and sold. She is the type of mare that has a presence about her and definitely "sashays" when she walks. She seemed super talented and I talked to Rosemarie Spillane and she too fell in love with and purchased Grace. Grace has a ton of eye appeal and is often "oogled" where ever we go. With her flashy HUGE movement and flamboyant jumping style, she is always a favorite to watch. She often times reminds me of my 3 star mare, Leap of Faith, with some of her diva behavior. It has been a long road, allowing plenty of time for her to mature, and have a very nice baby--Phamous. She has now progressed nicely and moving up the levels. This should be an exciting season!

Jackson (aka Jack)

I found Jack in an internet ad that merely said “TB yearling $700” in Kansas. So, I decided to call while I vacationed with my grandparents in Florida. I received a fuzzy picture on the computer and couldn’t stop looking at it. I figured I should at least see a video before I made the 600 mile drive out to Kansas. I was obsessed with him and after I received the video; it was the only thing I watched. I wasn't daunted by the fact I had just started college and was considering buying a yearling TB colt that was: 600 miles away,pretty much buying site un-seen,had to scrape every penny from my high school graduation money-- and stable him in my backyard--literally.

But Jack was so quite and laid back; I just knew that he was my horse. I talked to the owner who had him, his mother an half-brother. I am kicking myself now because if I had had the funds, I would have purchased all three. My mother and I made the thirteen hour drive to get him; it was a unseasonably(for September) cold and rainy trip with no windsheild wipers,lightning blowing up a tree, driving past a tornado,swarms of locusts, and really bumpy roads. We slept in my single cab truck for two hours, picked up Jack and then headed back home.It was an experience to say the least!

People thought I was crazy when I brought this little “thing” home--my Grandpa called him a mule! Skinny and beaten up, he wasn’t much to look at, but I must say your gut feeling is something to trust and have faith in because Jack is prime example.

Throughout the years, Jack has been amazing at everything he does. Bringing him up from a yearling, I spent endless hours ground training him and grooming him. Some nights I would sneak out of the house, and he would lay his head in my lap (which I still do!). I started him bareback which I think makes all the difference in the world. I took him on trails and slowly got him started. I made sure he had the basics down which has paid off and allowed us to prevail.

Jack loves to please and enjoys working which makes him a wonderful event horse. He loves to jump and seems to smile in all of his pictures. Even from the very beginning, he has been super. He won our first novice with a 26.9 (with an error -- stupid me!). To say the least, the rest has followed the same path, placing in the top four in all but three events in the past three years. Our biggest accomplishments have been (2007)1st at Maui Jim CIC***, 4th at Millbrook Advanced, 4th Rocking Horse Advanced, 4th at Pine Top Advanced, 4th at Red Hills CIC**, 18th at the Pan-Am Selection Trials, Developing Rider's Program, and Long-listed for the 2008 Olympics.

After being sidelined with an injury in 2007 after Fair Hill, Jackson has been on a bit of a hiatus, enjoying the life of luxury and being a big brother to the babies.

Whether he is the "fit as a fiddle event horse" or the "fat and happy pasture pony", it has been so surreal, as I still remember him as the scraggly little yearling -- a mere 14 hands when I him got from Kansas in 2000 and to see him now: a 16.1 and strikingly gorgeous ,wise,and intelligent and always intact with his goofy demeanor. It has been very rewarding. My relationship with him has been great, and he's my best bud. He looks at you with that large soft eye and seems to understand everything you say. He even says "yes" to a question--he knows a couple of tricks ie,yes, bowing, showing his tonge, and painting. But the most endearing trait about Jack is that he gets everyone to love him--you really don't have a choice!

leap of Faith (aka Mia)

Leap of Faith (aka Mia) is a strikingly gorgeous mare. I met her in 2001 when my father took over her training. He competed her up to the Preliminary level, and then she was on a two-year break. A very quirky mare and sometimes hard to understand, I was given the opportunity to purchase her last May through a deal my father made with his former boss. Thus, the journey together continued, but with me sitting in the saddle.

As soon as I got her, I worked on her manners and ground work which allowed us to bond together. Although this year has been long, and I have had my doubts about her at times -- she has made a 180 degree turn around. Mia has the ability to melt your heart with her funny faces. When she pins her ears in her mighty bluff -- she is really just saying “love me.”

I found that she had a very low confidence in just herself -- let alone trusting me. So, our first couple of competitions were rough. After every competition, I would go back to the drawing board and work on trusting exercises. Mia’s main issues were she was in a lot of pain from unbalanced shoeing (resulting in a sore back), and she is prone to stomach ulcers. Now a year later, she is a completely different horse; although she still is quirky, her back is not sore and she LOVES food which she wouldn’t always eat before(due to the ulcers).

I noticed the break through with her when we were competing at the Florida CCI*. At the water complex, she jumped in bold (not normal for her) then when she landed, her knees buckled and I thought we were going down. But somehow she tried her heart out and got us out of that sticky situation. That is when I knew she was a real event horse -- the only thing she had been missing was the heart because she has all of the talent in the world. If an event horse does not have heart then they will not make it as an event horse.

Ever since then she has been the gamiest horse on cross country and stadium -- trying her heart out. It has been the best feeling to taking a horse that no one but my Dad had faith in and literally taking a “leap of faith". She won the CIC** 2007 at Poplar Place Farm, and she was so happy cantering first in the victory gallop (she normally wants to run!). No one would believe that I ride her without a bridle and saddle as I do with Jack, and she loves it. It helps her relax in her canter, and she has to trust me as I do her.

Mia is now a Mommy!Finally through a lot of frustrations and in complete "Mia style", she delivered a filly--Cor de Fe, August 30,2010. She had carried the foal an astonishing 13months!It was a surprise birth as well, she is checked NOT in foal the previous july, treated and flushed for a uterine infection. She does have a couple of cysts, which I think little Fey was mistaken as. So as luck would have it, I went to move Mia to a different pasture, and at first I thought " why is that deer so close to Mia?!" Then I realized it was her baby she had just given birth only a couple of hours prior. I know it sounds strange, most people say"come on she had to look pregnant, and bag up". Nope, she looked great and held great weight just being out on pasture--she never showed signs of a broodmare belly nor did she bag up! Luckily both Mia and foal were healthy and safe. Besides a great birth story, Mia has been a fabulous mother and produced beautiful offspring. Hopefully more offspring to come, but as we all know it is up to Mia!!

Cor de Fe (aka Fey)

Cor de Fe aka Fey was definitely an amazing surprise. Her Dam, Leap of Faith aka Mia, my 3star and incredibly talented mare, who I had tried to years in a row to get in foal, was supposedly not in foal so we flushed her and put in caslix. I then put her back out in the field. Come spring of 2010 I decided to pasture breed her to again bred her to Cor Magnifique. Low and behold on one particular day(August 30th) when I had to pick up Mia and move her to a different pasture--expecting her to hopefully a couple of months along in pregnancy. I noticed from far away a deer looking animal flicking its tail, near Mia. HOLY MOLY!!MIA JUST HAD A BABY! How was this possible? I had her there to be bred. Not to foal out!! As I got closer I thought "maybe it is another mare's baby". Nope it was nursing on Mia. She had be born only a couple of hours before--what luck! It was amazing, we had been checking her--no signs of a pregnancy at ALL! On top of that the foal was a chestnut filly! This left doubt as both parents are bay, and the puzzling event of Fey's birth had everyone scratching their heads. So I had her genetically verified and yup, she is a Cor Magnifique and Leap of Faith baby 100%. My vet was still amazed and calculated that Mia carried Fey 13 months!! I am so grateful to have Fey and crack a smile every time I see her. Definitely something in the stars for this one, and I can't wait for her future to unfold!

Phamous

Phamous is a talented colt out of Chase the Moon and sired by Papparazzo. He was born,of course,when everyone was vacant from the barn-- I had to judge a horse show out of town . Luckily, I had recalculated the due date and of course--right when I was out of town! But maiden mares can always be tricky..SoI layed down straw and Rose--who had been watching closely got called into work and within an hour--shaaZAM baby was born. So I was able to see him when he was a day old and he walked right up, did a stance, and pricked his ears and seemed to say "take my picture!" And I said I guess you want to be famous huh? The name stuck.. We have big things in store for this guy, with his "look at me" personality and great willingness as well as athletic ability. He will be campaigned in the Young Horse Breeding series this year along with Corwin and Cor de Fe!